One Sky, One Destiny
by Kuti
Summary: Ch.2 is up! We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize that wish. And who knows...Starting a new journey may not be so hard...Or maybe, it already had begun...
1. Vision 1 A hopless wish comes true

**_Escaflowne: One Sky, One Destiny…_**

**__**

Disclaimer: Throughout the entire story, I do not own the characters or any of the contents that I used in the story. It rightfully belongs to the creators. So please do not sue me!!

Summary: Hitomi Kanzaki never quite lived a happy life during her years in high school. She was always alone, thinking about a dreadful past that never disappeared from her mind. The only thing she can do now is to hope for the past to come back. All she wanted was someone to understand, to actually be accepted for who she is, and to be free from every problem she has endured. One day, on Christmas Eve, a simple present have granted her wish. What did she get herself into? She woke up to find herself in a different world, only to be caught by pirates?! What is going on? Now, Hitomi must find a way to know who she is in a world that is far beyond the imagination. Will she be able to find the answers? Will Hitomi ever learn to adapt? Or will the young raven haired rebel help guide her to the right direction?

**_Author's Note_**: Okay, okay. I know everyone is going to yell at me, once again, but, I can't help it. I just got this idea out of my head and well, before I knew it, I am developing a plot for the story and starting to write it. I apologize sincerely for being out for almost 2-3 months. My computer broke down on me since it had a load of unknown viruses. So, I was not able be go online for a while. Also, I busy with school. Since graduation is coming pretty soon, I am busy with studying and getting my grades up that I had no time to even write. Besides, I have senior events like Prom (which I enjoyed very much because it was at the House of Blues down at Downtown Disney and went with a charming date to Prom ), senior meetings, senior trip, Finals, etc. etc. So, for that reason, I apologize once more. But now, I am back!!! I am right now using a new computer that we bought recently and it is certainly working well than my old own (besides we had the old one for at least 5 years, no wonder it couldn't compete with the newly formed viruses). Okay, enough with the talking. Here is a freshly, new fanfic! Enjoy!

By the way, I apologize for the summary and title. I suck at summaries. And the title is just temporary. I am still thinking about if I should leave it there or not. I am such a bad title namer, here. So, it might change.

* * *

_"Thinking of you wherever you are…_

_ We pray for sorrows to end…_

_ And hope that our hearts will blend_

_ Now I will step forward to realize that wish_

_ And who knows…_

_ Starting a new a journey may not be so hard_

_ Or maybe it already had begun…"_

_ There are many worlds,_

_ But they share the same sky_

_ One Sky, One Destiny…_

_ Kingdom Hearts Square Enix…_

* * *

It is a beautiful, snowy day down in Tokyo, where most of the magic is taken place. It is Christmas season and every single district was decorated with lovely decorations that bring out the happiness that each and everyone should feel on this special season. In school, it was a heated subject to talk about amongst their comrades, waiting in anticipation for Christmas break to come.

In Ichidou High School, it was a grueling, hard month that the students worked in their classes, trying their best to obtain a good grade and become the number one representative in their class. All of that hard work paid off as students excitedly waited until school ended for the winter season. It is the last day and people are waiting for it. No homework, no class work, and no competitions for a while. No wonder the hardworking students sighed with relief.

"Say, what are you are planning to do on Christmas break?" asked one female student to her fellow companion during their break period.

"Well…I'm going to go Christmas shopping!" said her friend, with an excited smile on her lips. "I'm going to buy presents for everyone in my family, but of course I'll give a present to you too."

The two girls both giggled as they passed through the halls to their classroom with the little sign above that says "2-A." As the girls entered the classroom, 30 people were in there, talking in their groups about their own Christmas break plans. The two girls put their heavy coats neatly on the coat rack and headed for their seats. They passed by two guys who were laughing loudly across the classroom.

"Are you kidding me?" said one male, trying to sustain his laugh. "You are such a rebel!"

"I am rebel, baka," said the other, laughing. "I was bored on that day, so my pals and I decided to throw some coins at the junior high students."

Again, the guys laughed. It was lively in this classroom with the students smiling about the holiday. Almost everyone was smiling. It seems that everyone is happy about Christmas day, with their bright smiles and talks about their plans, all except for one.

* * *

Chapter One- Dilemma

* * *

Isolated from the group, near the back corner of the room, a young woman sat there, drawing intently in her sketch book. There was not a single smile on her pale lips as her green eyes and slender hands were busy drawing. When the laughs came in, she did not look up and smile. Her eyes are just glued to her drawings.

A group of girls started giggling away after hearing how one of their male classmates met his one true love in Shibuya, in a funny, awkward way. One girl slowly ended her laugh when she spotted the girl in the corner. Her smile vanished when she looked at the girl who was drawing. "Don't tell me she is drawing again?" asked the girl to her group of friends.

Her friends also looked at the girl. "Yeah, she's always there, drawing. I think she must be in denial…"

"What do you think made her the way she is?" asked one girl, who showed a sympathetic look towards her.

"Heh, I bet she went to a shrink," said a man with long blonde hair with a cocky smile upon his lips. "Hello ladies."

"That's mean of you to say that," said one girl with long blonde hair, her amethyst eyes showing great anger, "Especially since you don't know her that well. I mean, we only know her name since the beginning of high school year."

"All I gotta say about that girl is that she has no sense of style. Look at her. Her hair is always in that low ponytail, she never talks, and she's always drawing all the time," he said, sitting on top of a desk. "Besides, I wouldn't date even if it means giving up 1 million yen."

The blond girl eyed the boy icily. "Well, to me, she seems like a nice person. All she need is a friend to talk to."

"Trust me, she is someone you don't want to be friends with. From what I can see from sophomore year, I never heard her talk once. She is the antisocial type."

"Kanzaki is her name right?" said one girl, looking at her. "Hitomi Kanzaki?"

Once the name was heard, everyone's eyes looked towards the blonde man who was eyeing Hitomi Kanzaki icily. "Yeah, it's true," said one student. "She never once talked. She never talked to anyone…"

"I heard that she is from a different planet and that she is secretly observing our world. That's probably why she isn't talking," said one male, putting his glasses back up.

"Hiroshi, that's just your theory since you watch too much of those space-style anime on television."

"But, she is weird though. Heck, I don't want to be friends with that girl. She is not worth talking to, especially with that hair…come on, doesn't she ever go to a beauty salon?"

"Besides, I heard she is not so friendly…"

People started talking all at once until the bell suddenly rang. It is the signal that school is about to begin, and Hitomi closed her sketch book and put it in her messenger bag. At the same time, she took out her spiral notebook and pencil case, ready for today's lecture. Slowly, the teacher came in and everyone at once stood up.

As Hitomi stood in front of her seat, she slowly lifted her green eyes to view the teacher for a while. Then, she once more lowered them to look at her feet. In those green eyes of hers, a sad expression etched her usual calm, emotionless features, and respectfully bowed to her teacher along with the class.

* * *

A few hours have passed on as the bell rang and everyone was cheering happily. School is over and Christmas Break has come! People quickly packed their stuff and began to walk with their friends out of the classroom into the winter wonderland.

Hitomi stood up and began packing her things slowly.

"Yeah! Christmas Break!!! I can't wait to go and have some fun for a change!" said the blonde male as he began to run to the entrance. Hitomi was about to put her things in her bag when the blonde male knocked them down as he passed by.

Hitomi just watched her stuff fall to the ground, with no reaction to it whatsoever. The male turned to see what fell and saw the honey-brown top of Hitomi. A cringe crossed his face. "S-s-sorry," he abruptly said.

Slowly, Hitomi sank to the floor and started to pick up her stuff without saying a word. It was like he never existed. "Hey, I said I was sorry!" said the blonde rudely. "Can you at least say something?!?!"

Hitomi did not say a word and continued to pick her stuff up.

Angrily, the boy turned around. "Humph! Weirdo…" With that said, he ran out of the classroom to meet up with his pals.

It did not occur to Hitomi that her classmate insulted her, yet, she did not mind at all. She just picked up her stuff and she tried her best to organize them. After a minute passed by, Hitomi was all alone in the classroom, picking her stuff up. It was quiet and Hitomi could even hear her breath. Somehow, it felt comfortable for Hitomi to be by herself instead of being surrounded by her own classmates. She did not like them one bit.

"Hey, do you need any help?" a voice said to her suddenly.

Hitomi stopped when she heard the voice and slowly, she looked up. A young, handsome man looked down at her, with his tussled hair covering his eyes. Hitomi abruptly looked away and nodded. With a widening smile, he slowly knelt down and helped her pick up her stuff.

For the past few minutes, they were silent as they picked up every single item. The young boy slowly stood, finished with his task. He began to neatly organize them in his arms. Hitomi stood up as well as she held her items close to her chest tightly. The man smiled once more and handed her stuff. "Here you go," he said.

Hitomi hesitated for a minute as she gazed at her stuff and at the man before her. Finally, she shyly took her stuff gently from him and smiled. She quickly turned to her desk and started to pack her things, with a little tint of pink on her cheeks.

"Well, I'll see you around, Hitomi-chan," he said, patting her shoulder. "Have a good break. And have a Merry Christmas." With that, he walked away, holding his bag above his shoulder. He waved to her as he was about to exit the room. Hitomi abruptly stopped what she was doing when she heard his words. Lifting her head, Hitomi watched his figure exit the room, his hand still waving to her until he disappeared. A small smile appeared on her face and she looked down at her stuff.

"_That was the first time he ever talked to me…"_

* * *

It was almost 6 when Hitomi reached her little home. Hitomi opened the door to her house. "Okaasan, I'm home!" she called as she closed the door in the process.

"Oh Hitomi-chan, you're home!" From the kitchen, a young 32 year old woman came out, wearing a simple pink apron around her casual clothes. "How was school today for you?"

Hitomi put her shoes neatly against the wall. She put her slippers on and started to walk towards her mother, Yuri. As Hitomi passed by Yuri, a smile did not appear on her face. As a mother, Yuri knows exactly what had transpired on her daughter's day. "Oh, another bad day for you, honey?" her mother asked with a sympathetic expression on her face.

Hitomi nodded and sank into the couch in the living room. "Well, why won't I wipe up your favorite dessert?" she suggested, patting her daughter on her shoulder.

"That would be great," Hitomi said.

"Okay, then," Yuri said with a smile. Quickly, she went into the kitchen without wasting any time.

For the pass several minutes, Hitomi sat there, watching the roasting fire moving rhythmically in the fireplace. She averted her eyes to the simple Christmas tree that was placed several feet away from the fireplace. The tree was filled with beautiful, intricate Christmas ornaments that Hitomi helped her mother picked out earlier. Their theme for the Christmas holiday is light blue and white, the colors of the soft snow. Under the beautiful Christmas tree, there were at least 9 presents for her mom, herself, and…

"Hitomi!" said a voice from upstairs.

A small smile appeared in her lips as her little brother came down. "You're home!" he said and hugged her.

"Yes, I'm home, Hiro," she said sweetly. "You miss me already?"

Hiro nodded his head lividly. "It's been so long since I last seen you! Otousan dropped me off here to see you guys."

The smile that was once on Hitomi's face disappeared vanished when the "father" came in. "W-why…why isn't he here? It is almost Christmas time…"

Hiro had a curious look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure why. I asked him if he wants to come and stay, but he'd said that he will come on Christmas Day. He said he has a lot of work to do."

Hitomi lowered her head. "I…see…"

Hiro glanced at his older sister's face. He cocked his head and noticed the sad look on her face. "Don't worry, Hitomi, he promised that he would come on Christmas Day!"

Hitomi's eyes lowered even more. "_Sure…but why would he come in the first place? Besides…he never keeps his promises…"_

__

"…and you know, he promised us that he would take us to Tokyo Disneyland to see the parade there. And Oniichan would be coming over too from college!"

"Mamoru?" she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah! He said he will be coming on Christmas Eve! He will be coming with us to Tokyo Disneyland! Aren't you excited?" Hiro asked happily.

Slowly, Hitomi lifted her eyes to view her brother's own green-blue eyes. She could see no sadness in his eyes. He is enjoying every minutes of his life, Hitomi could very well tell. Although he does not know what their father is really going to do, Hiro has high hopes and Hiro believes he will come. He was just a child with pure innocence, like a typical child, yet, he did not care. Just as long as everyone is here is something he would wish that would happen. Hitomi feels as if she has no life compared to him. "Yes, I am," she lied. She didn't want to belittle him right on the spot.

Hiro smiled and sat by the tree, glancing at the presents under the tree. "Hitomi, didn't you get presents from your friends?"

Hitomi was about stand up when he spoke. She froze and slowly looked her brother once more, with a hidden fear mentally striking her. A chill ran up her spine when he said that word. Friends. "Well…not exactly…"

"Why not?? Shouldn't friends exchange gifts? Especially this is Christmas?"

"…"

"Hitomi…"

Hitomi didn't want to tell him. She didn't want to him her life at school. It was a subject that Hitomi wanted to skip.

She did not want him to know that she does not have any friends.

* * *

Two days have passed by after school was over. It was Christmas Eve and everyone is now at their homes, enjoying a warm, happy Christmas with their own families. In the Kanzaki's house, everything is simply an ordinary day. The Christmas lights were on of course, were everyone would think that this happy family is enjoying a family get together. Yet, deep inside, everything was quiet. No one came over for a Christmas celebration. Nothing, but the quiet darkness of the room.

Hitomi gazed out into the window from her room, watching the sun begin to set into the horizon. She gazed intently into the blue sky, as it slowly changed into a dark orange. Her clock on her nightstand read 5:00p.m. With a sad sigh, Hitomi closed the blinds of her window and stood up, straightening her ankle-long skirt. Adjusting her low pony-tailed hair, Hitomi opened the door to the hallway. She was about to exit when she found her sketch book and her art supplies on her desk. Hitomi turned around and grabbed for her supplies and headed downstairs.

It was quiet downstairs as Hitomi reached the first level of her house. Her mother and her brother are off to the mall, doing some last Christmas shopping. Her older brother Mamoru has not arrived earlier as planned. He called earlier that he would be a little late since he has some last minute work to do at his part time job in a Japanese Restaurant down in Shibuya. Her dad, of course, was obvious in her case, since he rarely comes and visits them. Another sigh escaped her mouth and she sat herself a few feet away from the lit fireplace. Lifting her legs up, she put her sketch book on her lap and opened to a new blank page. Opening her pencil case, Hitomi began to draw.

In the midst of her drawings, Hitomi closed her eyes and pictured an image in her imagination. She began to see her imagination come into play as she began to put one thing after another. "_White...symbolizes purity and goodness within the heart, a person who is rounded and kind-hearted."_ Hitomi began to draw a curvy line. "_A figure that supports this purity white who displays all the capabilities of these traits."_ Hitomi slowly began to draw the body of the figure, precisely drawing its features in the right places. "_A person with the most beautiful face who deserves the beauty that matches the personality."_ She began to draw the eyes, the nose, and the mouth on the empty face. "_A sword that represents the strength to protect others, known as the savior of the world." _Hitomi began to draw the strap of the sword across the waist, and a single, long sword lying on the hips.

Hitomi kept on drawing for the past hour as she thought and drew what she imaged. Finally, she laid her paints on her palette and gazed at her drawing. She looked at her drawing carefully, eyeing each and every feature of the figure. To her amidst surprise, she found the drawing to be quite beautiful and magnificent that it was almost perfect. Hitomi inspect it closely to see the features of the person's expression and the appearance the person is set. Hitomi drew a lot of drawings back her in days, but never did one of her drawings come out like this. Why did her drawings suddenly become so beautiful? Every time she drew, mostly at school, nothing turned out the way she wanted it to be. Why is that? Hitomi thought for a moment. There was one time when she successfully drew a great drawing, and it was about to be completed until people started talking. Somehow, the people's conversation did not satisfy Hitomi and she was greatly influenced. By the time she finished with the painting, Hitomi threw it into the trash without another word.

The excitement of this success surged through Hitomi's mind. She smiled and turned around. She was about to say something when she saw nothing but empty air. "_Oh…"_ she thought gloomily as she dropped her head. "_I don't…have any friends…"_

__

How long has it been since she had a friend? Hitomi could not remember. The word friendship provoked a lot of memories that sipped into Hitomi's mind. It has been a while since she ever thought about her past. After all, this was the only time she has to herself since she has a lot of business to take care from school, with clubs, schoolwork, and homework. Yet, she winced at the thought of it and shook her head to throw her thoughts about her past away from her. Yet, it could not be avoided. It remained in her. Hitomi began to scrunch herself up as tears started streak her cheeks. That past; she remembers those memories as happy moments, where everything does not seem so complicated. She remembers her life back in junior high school. She remembers every single bit of her memory just 3 years ago, when she was fresh out of elementary school, entering junior high school. She remembered her mother, her brothers, and even her father. Everything seemed in place.

Suddenly, painful memories started to strike her. It was the memories when she first entered high school, all alone. It was a painful experience and she wanted to dismiss that memory away. Hitomi does not want to even explain or even think of it.

"Why?" she said quietly to herself, trying to wipe the tears off her face. "Why did everything have to go downhill?"

It was a question that always occurs to Hitomi, a question that symbolizes her grief. Inside the depths of a calm, demure person, she is all broken into pieces. Hitomi feels completely overwhelmed by sorrow and despair. She wanted her dreams to come true, yet it never came. She wanted friends to talk and to hang out with, but never had one for a year and half now. Hitomi feels completely lost and no one is there to guide her. She is all alone.

"I really want to end this agony!" Hitomi said to herself, her hands forming fists. "Why does everything bad happen to me?" She shook her head more frantically as ever. "All I want is to be accepted for who I am. No one understands me. No one does understand me…I just…I just want to be free…from all of this…"

During her outcries of her own instable state, a sudden light blue glow emanated from under the Christmas tree. The light increased and it caught Hitomi's closed eyes. Slowly, she opened her eyes to view that majestic light. Cautiously, Hitomi crawled to that very light.

"Where is that light coming from?" Hitomi said, inching closer to the tree. "It's not coming from the Christmas lights." Reaching under the tree with her hand, Hitomi steadily aimed for the light. After a while, Hitomi felt something in her hands and she took this opportunity to grab it. Slowly, she took out an item with the same light blue glow she has seen. The item was one of the presents, wrapped in a red and green stripped gift wrap with a white bow. On the name tag, it read, "To: Hitomi, From: Okaasan."

"W-what…is this?" Hitomi asked, oblivious.

Suddenly, out of the blue, a tap on her shoulder startled Hitomi from her own thoughts. She turned around to see her mother, smiling at her. "Okaasan…you're home…" Hitomi simply said, sighing that it was not some kind of burglar or stranger in her house.

"Hitomi…I have been home for some time now," her mother said, sitting herself next to Hitomi. "I guess you didn't notice because you were so wrapped up with your drawing."

Hitomi lowered her head and muttered an "I see" for acknowledging that fact. Yuri smiled as her daughter lowered her head, knowing that she was relieved that she was not alone. Slowly, her gaze turned upon the drawing she drew, and Yuri slowly picked it up. She was astonished to see what Hitomi has done to it.

"This is very nice Hitomi," complemented her mother as she returned Hitomi's sketch to her. "You have great talent, Hitomi."

"No I don't," said Hitomi pessimistically as she scrunched herself again, putting her face just above her knees.

"Now don't say that, Hitomi. You know as well as I know you have talent to do this kind of thing."

"I am good, but I am not good enough..." Hitomi said plainly.

"Not good enough? What do you call this?" her mother said, turning the page to show her array of sketches. "Although they are incomplete, each and every single line, figure, shape, and color are all precise. You might be the reincarnation of Leonardo De Vinci or something. Yet, why is it incomplete?"

Hitomi fell silent and looked away from her drawings, abhorring her drawings mentally in her mind. "Hitomi, I know you hate your drawings. It's obvious by the way you scorn at them…"

"…"

"Tell me, why Hitomi?"

"…"

"Come on, Hitomi, you used to tell me everything…"

Hitomi began to think. She looked up into her mother's eyes and down to the ground again. "…Those drawings that you see…the reason I hate them so…is because…that it does not represent me in there…"

"Hitomi…? What do you mean?" her mother asked.

"It means what it means, Okaasan."

"It doesn't mean a thing if you don't go fully on depth on that."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Hitomi stop avoiding this conversation. I can't just let you bottle your feelings up."

"Just leave me alone…"

"Hitomi..."

"Please…just leave it, I don't want to talk about it," Hitomi quivered, feeling the tears begin to rim her eyes. "It will only make me feel weaker…"

Her mother was surprised to hear negative things about her own daughter. She never saw this side of her before. She's beginning to worry. Yuri was about to say something, yet she closed it before making any more moves. If Yuri was to say something again, Hitomi would crack down. _"Hitomi…why are acting like this?"_ Yuri thought, gazing at her beloved daughter. _"Hitomi…what has happened to you? You are not the happy girl I used to know who was full of life…"_

__

Tears started to spill from her cheek. Hitomi wanted to scream. Hitomi wanted to scream out at the top of her lungs. All the things that is happening to her; everything led to her downfall. The problems that she faced, the feelings that she endured, and the isolation from the students in her class began to impact her. She feels great rage coming into her. These feelings can no longer be oppressed. She gripped her skirt tightly with her hands and looked at her mother, her eyes red and puffy with a look of desperation. _"I can't stand living here anymore!"_ Hitomi thought. "_I can't stand living here…with all these people belittling me…ever since I started high school, no one really liked me, no one ever talked to me. No one knows that I even exist. I am just a lone wolf that people think that I am not worthy to be their friends…I feel so alone…"_

__

"What?" her mother asked, hearing the last sentence of her thoughts out loud.

Hitomi buried her face into her knees again. "I'm alone…"

"Hitomi…you are not…"

"I just want everything to be the way it was, Okaasan, where no one has to feel so much sorrow…"

Everything fell silent. Her mother looked at her with such worry and sympathy. She wanted to cry herself, yet, she must stand strong for her daughter's sake.

"I'm going to make Christmas dinner right now," Yuri said. Just when she was about to get up to deal with dinner, Yuri saw the present on top of Hitomi's lap. Curiosity struck Hitomi's mother's mind and the only thing she can come up is only one thing. Yuri shock her head with a smile and sat right back down. "I see you have found your present, Hitomi," said Yuri.

"Huh?"

"Are you really that anxious to open your presents?"

"Well…umm…you…see...umm…"

"Say no more Hitomi," her mother said, silencing her. "I know it is kind of unfair, but, I can make an exception. But, I will only allow you to open one. So, go ahead and open it."

"A-are you serious?"

"Hmm," her mother smiled. "Go ahead and open it."

Hitomi gaze momentarily at her mother's eyes. Her mother nodded with a small smile that reassured her to open it. With a small smile, Hitomi began to open it.

After ripping the wrapping off the box, Hitomi slowly opened it to reveal a little figurine inside. "Okaasan, this is…"

Yuri's smile widened to see the surprised look on her face. "Hitomi, I want you to have this," Yuri said.

"But…this is yours. Grandma gave this to you," Hitomi said, shaking her head. "It is nice of you to give me this, but, this belongs to you."

"Hitomi, I don't need this anymore," said Yuri. "This figurine gave me all the luck I needed in order to find the path I needed to go. Besides, I have you three for my luck now."

"Okaasan…"

"Hitomi, there is a story behind this figurine that you have in your hands right now, but, I won't go into full detail about that yet until Christmas Eve," said Yuri as she stood up. "But, what I can say to you is to keep this with you, Hitomi. If you have a pure heart and a pure determination, then your wishes may come true."

"If I have a pure heart and determination…Okaasan…did your wish came true?" Hitomi asked, looking into her mother's eyes.

"Hitomi…my wish came true when all of you are born and brought a meaning to my life," she simply said. Yuri kissed Hitomi's forehead. "I love you sweetheart. Remember, Hitomi, don't lose the daughter I am always proud of."

With that said, Yuri went into the kitchen to prepare for Christmas dinner.

As Yuri left Hitomi to deal with her own thoughts, Hitomi gazed at the little figurine in her hands. Slowly, she let her hands feel the surface of the little object. She was surprised to feel that it was smooth and well textured for an old heirloom that was passed down from generation to generation. With her keen emerald eyes, she gazed upon it carefully.

The figurine was a figure of a man, standing straight as a board. Around his waist is a long katana, with strands hanging on the ends of the hilt. The figure is wearing a man's kimono, with Hakama pants that fits smugly on his waist and cascades down to his ankles.

Hitomi observed the figure more to find that he is not just a human figurine. "An angel…a figure of an angel…" Hitomi said thoughtfully. "Why does he look so familiar?" Slowly, she ran her fingers along its wing. She inspected her present again only to be surprised that something is missing. "Wait…why does he only have one wing?"

It was a thought that Hitomi came to think about, yet set aside. "It must be old, that's probably why he is missing a wing."

Carefully, Hitomi put the figurine onto the glass end table, sitting herself on the couch next to the table. She looked at the angel figure carefully once more. "_If you have a pure heart and a pure determination, your dreams may come true."_

__

Hitomi thought carefully of her mother's words as she looked at the face of the angel. He was wearing a peaceful expression, with no sadness or anger. Hitomi has always thought that is how angels are. Because they are angels, they bring luck to people. They would come to anyone who is in need of assistants. Maybe that is why some angels are known as Guardian Angels.

"If dreams come true, why my dreams don't come true?" Hitomi asked. Slowly, she looked away from the angel figure and laid herself on the couch. "Maybe I am really useless if angels don't help me…maybe I was a mistake to be created."

As time passed on with her own pessimistic thoughts coming in and out, Hitomi began to feel herself grow quite weary. "Yeah, a guardian angel wouldn't come to me…I'm a worthless life form who does not deserve one." Her words slowly began to grow sleepy. "I just wish…that I have at least someone there for me." A tear came out of her closed eyes. "I wish…that I was free…from…everything…"

With those last words, Hitomi fell asleep in her warm home.

* * *

In the dark living room, a light blue glow started glowing radiantly once more, unaware of peering eyes within the house. It became brighter and brighter as every second elapsed from the clock wall's moving red, hand. The radiant blue light slowly enveloped the sleeping Hitomi. Slowly, she began to stir and she turned around. She did not even notice the light consuming her whole entire body. Once the light down its deed, it began to glow immensely, far more luminescent than before. It consumed the entire room.

* * *

After a minute has passed, the light died down each second passed by, the room regaining its dark atmosphere, with the single fire light in the chimney. It was quiet now, with the exception of the fire's crackling sound. The father clock in the far corner of the living started ringing its loud chime, ringing seven times to indicate that it is 7 in the evening.

No sound came from the couch where Hitomi slept. It was empty. Hitomi has disappeared.

* * *

**_"Oi, get him!"_**

**__**

_ A voice was heard through the sleepy mind of Hitomi as she slowly began to hear the surroundings._

__

_ **"Don't let him get away! He has those secret documents!!"**_

**__**

_ Hitomi could make out the words, yet, why was she hearing this? It was as if it was some kind of cowboy movie or something. She listened further with closed eyes._

__

_ Peaceful winds started to interrupt the crude voices, making Hitomi drift more into a blissful sleep. To her, it was such a soothing sound that it began to make her feel calm. The smell of the fields started to spread its aroma towards Hitomi's nose. She sniffed in the smell and sighed happily. It made her feel like her problems have disappeared into thin air. For all the years of grieving, she never felt such a pleasant feeling in her mind. _

__

_ **"You idiots! He's over there!"**_

**__**

_ Hitomi simply ignored those horrifying voices. All she wants is to enjoy the peacefulness in her own sleep._

__

_ Sounds of running foot steps were heard close by as it went into the grassy plain, where now the running foot steps started to crunch the long, green grass. It did not please Hitomi one bit when she heard more and more coming her way. This is not how she wanted to enjoy her slumber. _

__

_ **"Look, he's over there!"**_

**__**

_ The first running footsteps stopped suddenly, just a few inches away from where Hitomi lay. **"Damn it…they found me out…"**_

**__**

_ **"You're cornered now, boy, now how would you get out of here?"**_

**__**

Suddenly, Hitomi realized something that she had not caught before. The sounds of the wind, the crunching sounds of grass, the smell of the field, and the voices she is hearing? Something is not right and Hitomi was not going to let this pass. Slowly, Hitomi opened her eyes. When her eyes started to adjust to the light, Hitomi gasped in surprise.

She was no longer on her couch. She looked around her to find herself looking up into the dark orange sky, surrounded by mountains and a plain field. _"What…what is this?"_ Hitomi asked thoughtfully. "_Where am I?"_ She looked down to see that her angel figure was no longer there. Frantically, she searched around her area, yet there was no figure in sight. _"Where the heck am I?"_

__

Hitomi looked around her to find anyone to tell her where she is and ask anyone if they have seen her present. Slowly, she began to stand up. Hitomi started matting her clothes and straightening her long skirt down.

"What are you going to do, boy?"

Suddenly, Hitomi froze when she heard the voice from behind.

"You have no where to run, no where to hide. You worked us up a good sweat boy, and we don't like to sweat…"

Hitomi whirled around to see a dozen men in strange uniform surrounding a young man with silver hair. He smirked angrily at them, holding some papers close to his side. "Tch, so what if you sweat, baka?" said the boy, pouting his head to his right. "But you do really need that work out to get rid of all that useless lard in your bodies, you fatty Nezu!"

All the men in strange uniform started retorting at once from the remark the young man made. He only laughed at the mere sight of them, yelling like a bunch monkeys. "God, you're so stupid! Instead of yelling…" Hitomi's eyes could not catch the young man's movement as his hands were replaced with a sword in hand. "…why don't you draw your weapons and fight me, ya bunch of retards!!"

All the men at once started to draw their swords. "We'll be glad to," said the leader with an evil smirk in his mouth.

"Well, bring it on, punks!" he said and sank into his position.

Hitomi did not know what was going on. Why would they attack him? Especially since the young man looks pretty young to commit any crimes. She watched on as the men in uniform charged forward towards the loner, with his unpredictable eyes looking onward towards his opponents.

Suddenly, as she watched on, Hitomi winced when she heard a clash. It took her out her reverie for a moment to realize that sound. One by one, just right in front of her eyes, those men in uniform began to fall to the ground. "What? I have sworn they were charging at him right now."

Slowly, the young silver headed man released the tension in his breath as he slowly straightened his posture. Hitomi could see a glimmer coming from his right. On his right hand, he held a sword. "Since when did he take that out? I didn't even know he actually has a weapon."

He laughed heartily as he sheathed his sword in its scabbard that was strapped securely on his back. "This is so boring..." he simply said and sat on the spot where he stood.

"_Boring?" thought Hitomi. "He thought that was boring?!?! Look how many men he actually beaten in one round!"_

__

The silver headed loner continued to sit there, laughing hysterically in his spot. Slowly, he crossed his arms across his chest, still hysterical with chuckles. In that moment, a group of at least 30 men in those strange uniforms came into the scene.

"Look, there he is! And look what he did to our comrades!" yelled one of the men from afar, pointing at the spot where the man sat.

He still remained in his spot when the cavalry appeared behind him. "What the hell happened here?!" retorted the leader of the second group.

"What does it look like? I beat all your men in five seconds," said the boy, his eyes glued to the ground.

"D-d-did you do this?"

"Well, what do you think?!"

"Umm…yes…"

"Good job, retarded fatso. Do you want a cookie?"

The leader growled angrily at the boy and withdrew his sword. "Don't toy with us, rebel. You know you should never talk to a high class official. I am one of the best of our nation!"

"So what? I don't follow rules," the young man said. "I don't care if you are the king himself. Titles don't mean anything to me. So just piss off, fatso!"

His words raged the leader of the second cavalry. He quivered with anger as his hand shook, making his drawn sword rattle crazily. "Grr…EVERYRONE! Take out your swords and begin to attack!" he retorted, pointing his finger at his soldiers. Without any words of protest, his group at once withdrew their swords, ready to attack at their leader's command. "Prepare to die, scum."

The young man started yawning, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. The leader twitched at the boy's rude behavior. "And what was that suppose to mean?"

"It means nothing…sleepy…" the young boy suddenly fell flat on the ground, pulling his bandana on to his eyes.

"Nani?!?!"

"Goin' to sleep. Oyasumi." With that, he fell fast asleep.

The leader was twitching violently. He could not take any more of this and turned to his men, his sword lifting high in the air. "Attack!!!" he screamed.

Hitomi watched the reactions of each of the soldiers. They were all wore a face of excitement and anticipation in their eyes. They were happy about this command. With one mighty yell from them, the leader and his cavalry charged forward to the sleeping boy. He did not wake up from the fighting yell. He was still snoring.

Hitomi could not watch the horror of it. She had gone pale by the thought of his own flesh being ripped apart by these crude soldiers. She did not like sight of blood and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands.

"Die! You stupid boy!" screamed the leader as he swooped his sword down to the sleeping boy.

Nothing stopped the leader of his second cavalry from attacking the poor, sleeping boy and he laughed victoriously, beginning to feel the winning streak coming to his side. Just when the sword was within a centimeter away, a huge flash glowed directly on the captain's eyes, making him blind as a mouse. In that moment, the sword was suddenly knocked from the sleepy boy's position. The leader stumbled a bit from the surprisingly hard impact. Another strong blow was hit after the first hit on his sword and another after the second until the sword cracked into pieces. The leader yelled and sat right on his behind. "What the hell was that?!"

When Hitomi heard the sound of something cracking, she reopened her eyes to see the view before her. To her surprise, the boy was not harmed at all. He was still alive, snoring away in sleepy land. She looked at the leader to see him on his behind, looking up with surprised eyes. She looked down at his hand to see he was holding his broken sword. "What…what just happened?"

It was silent for a moment after the man fearfully spoke up in the silent night. The winds were the only sound that came into the calm plain, with each of the men's heads turn in all directions to find that source of that sudden attack. The leader was looking around as well. He looked at his sword to see it completely broken into nothing but pieces. His face began to pale when he notices how the pieces where shaped.

"Attacking when he is sleeping…? That' pretty low of you," said a voice from above.

The leader of the second group began to pale even more from that very menacing voice. "Oh no…it can't be…"

"Although he and I may be rebels, we all play fair and square…my friend was right on the mark…you are a bunch of sneaky Nezus I must say."

"Who are you calling rats?!" cried one of the men defensively. "Who are you?! Identify yourself?!?! Come out, and show yourself you big chicken!!"

"Agh!?! Don't say that!!" cried the leader. His face by now must have turned white as a white radish.

Hitomi looked around to find the source of that voice. She looked around, from the plain to the sky. "_Could he be invisible?"_

__

She turned away from the sky and she quickly viewed the group men, then to the leader, to the sleeping boy, and then to the sky once more. Nothing seemed to make sense to her. There was nothing but thin air all around. A person could be seen in this plain meadow. When her eyes looked away from the sky, a moving shadow caught the corners of her eyes. Shaking her head, she intently looked on to that shadow. That very shadow was situated on a huge tree near the sleeping man. She could see a dim glimmer of the weapon the shadow was wielding. "Who is that?"

The shadow soon dropped down to the ground, doing as the man had instructed. Slowly, it sheathed its weapon into the scabbard, and looked at its opponents. To Hitomi's relief, it was not an evil, carnivorous creature. It was a shadow that belonged to another young man who was dressed differently from the men in uniform. This man had hair that matched the dark night, his messy strands flowing with the gentle wind. Around his waist, there were two swords, one long and one short, strapped securely with a simple brown belt. On the surface of the belt, it had at least five tiny daggers neatly tucked into the thickness of the belt. Just under his belt, he wore beige pants with a small navy blue package tied securely around his right thigh. The ends of his pants were bunched inside a pair of brown boots that lengthen about half an inch below his knees, with two buckles holding the boots up. Around his upper body, a long, blue cape draped his entire left arm and left shoulder. The cape was tied with a simple amulet on his right shoulder. On his face, a simple white bandana covered most of his left side of his face with the other half tied up just enough to see his right burgundy eye.

At the sight of his right eye, Hitomi's heart began to beat. It was a feeling inside Hitomi that she never felt before. She felt fear consuming her when felt something dangerous about those eyes. She started to shiver uncontrollably when the eyes showed such great anger and determination within them. It was so scary that Hitomi could feel her whole entire feel like jello. With that feeling, she fell to her knees. Yet, that did not stop her from looking at scene in front of her, watching the young man glower at his opponents, his blue cape swaying with the gentle breeze.

"W-who is he, sir?" the man have spoken up asked.

"Don't you know, you dimwit?!" said the leader angrily. "He is the man that his Majesty is looking for! He is the rebel that is wanted from all over the country!"

The young rebel smirked. "Well, I guess you guys do have a brain."

"What did you say?!"

The young man ignored their angry replies and averted his attention to his sleeping boy. "God, sleeping on the job again, my friend?" he asked, peering into the closed eyes of his silver headed companion. No answer came from his friend. He smacked his head. "God, I forgot, he sleeps like a stone. He wouldn't hear me even if I have to amplify my voice to 100%. Yosh…" Slowly, he started stretching his legs. "There is one way to wake this idiot up…"

With one swift movement, the young man kicked his companion up into the air.

"?!?!"

The leader and his men all yelled. It was a huge surprise to see a person hitting his own comrade. That did not please the men in uniform one bit. They were uneasy and very unstable as they quivered in fear, their swords rattling like the tail of rattlesnake. Quickly, the sleeping man fell to the ground with a huge thud.

"Agh! Alright who did that?!?!" yelled the silver headed man.

"WAAH!!" screamed the men in uniform.

"Who dares to disturb my nappy time?!?!"

Hitomi was shocked to the bone, her eyes wide as saucers. "H-h-ow… can he survive that horrible kick??"

"Umm, it's me," said the raven headed man, raising his hand.

"Hey, why did you wake me up?!" retorted the man, trying to remove the sleep in his eyes. "You know me enough that I go cranky if someone wakes me up…"

The young man sighed and slowly sank into his fighting stance. "Well, one, you are sleeping on your mission, and two, these men were about to attack you while you were sleeping," he simply said, gazing at his opponents.

"NANI!!!" he yelled. "THAT'S LOW!!!" Slowly, he too sank into his fighting stance, his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to fight. "That…makes…me ANGRY. Hrmm….I HATE THEM!"

His companion winced and rubbed the ringing off inside his ear. "Y-yeah…so are you going to fight or what?"

"Nah, do it for me…I'm goin' back to sleep," he said and again, fell flat on the floor.

The raven headed man just looked at his friend and sweatdropped. "Then…why was he so worked up just now?" He shook his head. "God, he owes me big time for this…"

The leader slowly got up with a smirk in his lips. "Well, some friend you have, leaving you alone to fight off 30 men."

The raven headed boy did not say anything as he lowered himself more into his fighting more. "30 men are enough. I can deal with you guys even when I am alone. I guess the reason he slept is because you guys are not really worth fighting against. I've gotta say, he is precise with his opinions."

"Grr…don't underestimate us!" said one soldier, stepping beside his leader. "You dare insult the best soldiers in our world's history?!"

"Why would I care if you are the best soldiers in all the land? You are just people…"

"Humph. A demon like you would say something like that!"

A twitch on the young man's eyebrow started to move. "Even though we are only ponds of our highness' elite, we are stronger than you think. With this many men, even a demon like you cannot beat us."

"A demon, right?" said the man as he slowly grabbed for his sword. "And who says you have a right to call me a demon?"

"Heh, everyone does, because you are one!"

"What? A scrawny kid like him? A demon??" All the men laughed at once as they repeatedly called him a demon.

As the men started laughing all at once, Hitomi watched the young man simply stand there, with his head looking down to the ground. Why would they call him a demon? Hitomi shook her head. People are all like that, judging people by the outside instead of the inside. Suddenly, out of the blue, a shocking feeling started to envelop Hitomi. It was the same feeling she had when he looked into his eyes just a few minutes ago. She looked towards and gasped. He was not sad or anything about the insults. The young man was looking angrily at the people in front of him, his eyes showing great rage towards them. It shocked Hitomi and she fell to her knees again, clasping her heart with her right hand.

"You are going to regret calling me by that word," said the young man viciously.

Hitomi watched him quickly unsheathe his sword, and with one jump, he vanished into thin air. Her eyes widened from that fact and she looked around for him. "Where did he go?" she thought. "Could he have run away?" She got up on her feet and looked around for that young man. They were still laughing, so he has not made his move yet.

"AGH!"

Hitomi gasped as one of the laughing men collapsed into the ground, a gush of blood spilling everywhere. Soon after him, another one collapsed to the floor with an agonizing yell.

The group suddenly stopped laughing as they saw their comrades' fall beside them. Every single man was running frantically around. "Hey, stop running and start fighting, you bunch of wimps!" the leader yelled. "Don't be afraid of a demon like him!"

"Take those words back!" said the young man, who suddenly appeared in front of the leader. The lead soldier suddenly screamed when he surprisingly saw his opponent in front of him. "If you say that word once more, I'll kill you!"

The leader screamed frantically, trying to run away from his opponent.

"You call yourself a leader?! Why are you running away like a chicken?!"

He continued to run away, fear for his very life. "You are not getting away!" The young man started running forward and with one lift of his sword, he swiped at his opponent. The leader shrieked in pain and fell to the ground.

Hitomi observed the whole fight and it only took him five minutes to knock them down. She watched as the young man started panting. With each deep breath, his rage started to decrease. Slowly, he grew out of his fighting stance and sheathed his sword back inside his scabbard. "Don't worry," he said, looking at his fallen opponents. "I only used the back of my sword. Next time, I won't feel merciful towards you all. Think twice before calling me a demon." With that said, the young rebel turned away and walked towards his sleeping friend.

Observantly, Hitomi watched him kneel down to his friend and gently shook him. "Oi, wake up, its over," he said.

His companion slowly got up, scratching the sleep from his eyes. "Huaah…huh? Good Morning!" he said with smile. The raven headed man bunked him on his head. "OW! What was that for??"

"It's not morning, you idiot. You just took a nap."

"Really?! Aww…damn…I wish it was morning…I wanna eat breakfast…that's the best part of the day" he pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

His raven headed friend started laughing heartily and patted his shoulder. Hitomi watched him as he talked happily towards his friend. It was strange to see that man shift from one mood to the next. What is he anyways? Suddenly, Hitomi shook that thought out of her mind. Why would she be interested in a person she does not know? She began to walk since she has more important things to think about like how to get back home. Her family must be worried sick about her.

After a few steps, Hitomi suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her thoughts about home were seized when she saw something from a distance. Something bright glimmered in front of her. She drew her hand above her eyes and squinted to see more clearly. "What is that?" she asked. Slowly, she looked even closer to see a person hiding in the grass, holding something small and pointy at its ends. "Oh no!" Hitomi retorted as she finally realized what it was. That person is aiming towards that man.

Quickly, she sprinted towards them.

* * *

The person hiding in the hedges began adjusting the coordinates, aiming right at the young man's heart. With a smirk, the person pulled the bow and released it.

Hitomi could see that the arrow is coming quickly, making Hitomi run faster towards them.

The raven headed man and his companion where having a conversation when something is coming towards them. His companion was the first notice as his eyes begin to widen. "WHAT THE HELL??"

Hitomi desperately ran and with one huge leap, she went straight towards the young raven headed man. "Watch out!" she screamed.

She jumped right into the young man and pushed him towards the ground. Just when he hit the ground, the arrow struck Hitomi's arm. She cried in pain and fell to the ground next to him. "Damn it!" retorted the man as he slowly got up and checked on Hitomi. "Why that little-"

Quickly, his rage rouse once more. His right hand went to the daggers sticking out of his belt. Spinning professional in his hand, the boy was ready to throw at his target. Just when was about to throw, an arrow whizzed passed him like a bullet. He stopped his motion and watched the arrow move to his target with surprised eyes. The stranger in the hedges was about to run away, yet, the arrow got to the person before he could even sprint. With one cry, the stranger fell to the ground.

"Who in the hell did that?!" he said.

"Well, we just made it in time," said a voice from behind. The young rebel looked up to see a tall man wearing a long, dark blue trench coat that ran from his shoulders to just above his ankles. His coat was half zipped, showing a white shirt inside his thick coat. Around his waistband, two huge black belts were strapped around him, with a sword strapped securely on his left hip. Around his head is a simple, thin bandana and his long blonde hair was tied in a low ponytail. A smile emerged from his mouth as he slowly approached the young man, with his hand slowly returning to his sides. In his hands, he held a well-made maghoney bow.

"Made it in time?" retorted the young man. "You mean you made it too late! Someone got hurt!"

Slowly, Hitomi got up to her feet, holding the wound in her arm. Quickly, the young rebel looked around to see her standing up. Carefully, Hitomi pulled the arrow out of her arm and threw it to the ground. The young rebel looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Ah, what a pretty, young woman," said the blonde man, his tone suddenly shifted from a firm, serious tone to a lively, flattery tone when he caught sight of Hitomi's face. He started to smile seductively. "And whom may I ask your name, my fair lady, who has come from the beautiful stars beyond?"

Hitomi grudging looked away from him with a blush on her cheeks, without a word to say to that man. "My, what a feisty feline she is," he said, grinning pleasantly. "But, I love feisty women you know…"

"Hey, stop with that act, Captain," said another voice. Hitomi looked behind the blonde man to see a young woman with long blonde hair that was tied up on a high ponytail. "You know as well as I know she would not put up with your flattery. She is injured, can't you see that?!"

"Well, I'm sorry, princess, I simply didn't know."

"God, I swear that you are inconsiderate sometimes, you big womanizer," she said. With a smile, she gently looked at Hitomi. "Hey are you okay?" Hitomi looked into the eyes of the young maiden as she looked on with worry. Hitomi did not say a word because she was too astonished that more people are suddenly appearing, wearing the clothes that was worn during the Japan medieval times.

"Hey, Captain, where is that kiddo?"

"Yeah, he said he would meet us up right here…"

From behind, a group of men came hurdling towards their captain, with all smiles on their faces. Hitomi did not like this one bit and she began to feel uneasy. So, instead of looking at the strangers, she looked away once more. Hopefully, no one would notice her presence. "Yeah, we've been waiting on the pier for hours, what's the hold up here?"

The blonde captain just shrugged his shoulders, and pointed directly at Hitomi's downcast face. "Wow, what a cutie!" said one of the man as they came running towards. "You picked up a lovely lady!"

"Yeah, if she just her hair down, then she would like pretty hot!"

"And her clothes too…they're a bite strange, but that doesn't matter right?"

"Yeah, I wonder where she came from!" said another.

"Hey, what is your name?"

Every man came all at once towards Hitomi, asking the same question over and over again. With such attention, Hitomi nervously began to back away, trying to get rid of the men who were hovering around her. Her vision started to grow fuzzy and she couldn't keep her composure any longer. She stopped just a few feet away from the raven headed young man, grasping her head. "Who…?" she began wearily, as her vision began to diminish. "Who…are you…?"

The blonde man smirked and slowly walked to her. "Hehe, I'm glad you asked that…"

The blonde hair woman looked incredulously at the captain. "Captain, don't…didn't I tell you she won't-"

"Be quiet! I'm trying…to make her feel…more comfortable…yeah…more comfortable around us," interrupted the captain.

"Yeah, like, you can make everything comfortable…" said the girl, crossing her arms. "Big, inconsiderate womanizer…"

He smiled at Hitomi. "Hehe, you are lucky to come upon us, little lady. We--"

The young raven hair man came up to her, signaling his captain to stop whatever he is doing. An angry look appeared on the captain's handsome features. Without putting up a fight, he shrugged and crossed his arms above his chest and backed away. Slowly, the young man came up to her with a smirk on his face. "Don't you know?" he asked. "We are known as the toughest, coldest, and unsophisticated group amongst the seven seas…"

Hitomi was still clueless of what he is saying, yet she was surprised to hear the cockiness within the young man's voice. She never expect that from him. Then again, he is unpredictable. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you shouldn't get involved with us…if you don't want to get caught that is…"

It sounded more like a warning instead of threat, but Hitomi ignored it, shaking her head with a slight, confused expression on her face. "I-I…don't understand…"

The man hesitated for a moment, looking into Hitomi's confused eyes. Shaking his head, he gave another smile. "I'm surprised you are not even scared of us…I gotta say, I have to give you points for that." He looked into Hitomi's eyes. "We are known as the Abrahaki, the famous Kaizokus of the seven seas…"

"Kaizoku?!" Hitomi yelled surprisingly at his words. The young man smiled and nodded his head.

Slowly, Hitomi backed away from him as far as she can, the fear rising up into her stomach. "_What have I got myself into?"_ she thought, gazing at each person. Now, she is beginning to regret that she ever saved that boy's life. She looked at the boy in front of her, then to the older man smiling at her, then the crew who had a curious look on their faces, the girl with a worried look on her face, and then the raven haired boy's friend looking at her unpredictably. It was obvious now. They were all dressed, as pirates.

Everything in this situation began to affect Hitomi. She was utterly overwhelmed that she is beginning to feel dizzy. It was a moment like this when Hitomi wanted to run away. She wanted to go back home. Hitomi wanted to see her family again. She even wanted to be back in that wretched school of hers. Slowly, she looked into the eyes of the young man with the bandana across his left eye. She could feel her world begin to fade. She wanted to run away right in that moment as he gazed into his eyes.

Her hearing became impaired when the dizziness have become too much for her to handle. She slowly sank to her knees, feeling the sweat pouring from her glands. Soon, everything went black and Hitomi could no longer hear northing nor see anything.

Right then, Hitomi fainted.

* * *

To Be Continued

Author's note (part 2): Yes, what did Hitomi got herself into? Who is this group of pirates and what is there intention? What will they do to Hitomi? And who is this guy? To find out, please look out for Chapter 2, coming soon.

Hope you guys like it! It is not all that great, but oh well. I really enjoyed writing this. I just can't believe I have time to write this. Be sure to tell me what you think if you want. Oh yeah, and I am looking for a beta reader(s) right now. So email me if you want to be my beta reader for this story or any of my other stories. Until then, bye!


	2. Vision 2 Memories that never leave

**_Escaflowne: One Sky, One Destiny…_**

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**_Author's Note: Okay, I know I said in my bio that I would be updating this after finishing Together Yoyokagirinaku, but, I decided to write the next chapter instead just to this idea out of my head. But, after writing this, I decided to write it so I wouldn't have too much writer block. It gets my brain going. This story is kinda boring, I know, but it will get interesting. I know that some of the characters are a bit, out of character, especially Hitomi, but, people change, right? Later on, you will learn more of the character's background. So here is another chapter! Please review and enjoy! _**

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**_One more thing, for those who wondering about Together Yoyokagirinaku, Chapter 15 is finally updated!_**

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"_What happened to her?"_

_ "She was hit by this arrow…"_

_ "Ohh…I see…she hit by this…damn it, it contains the most dangerous poison!"_

_ "Oh my…will she be alright?"_

_ "If she has the right treatments…then…yes…yet without any treatments…she will soon die…"_

_ "What should we do, Captain?"_

_ "I am not so sure…"_

_ "…"_

_ "Hey, what do you think we should do?"_

_ "…Just…take her with us…"_

_ "What?! Are you sure?"_

_ "…" "We have no other choice…as much as I don't like her to get involved with us…it seems that she is here…alone…and I can't just let her die here…besides, we are not that low to leave a sick person dying…at least…that's my opinion about you guys…"_

_ "So are you saying…that-"_

_ "Yes…we must take her in…"_

_ "He does have a point…what do you say captain??"_

_ "Right, just take her with us. But, what will happen when she wakes up? After the stunt YOU pulled, she would surely get off our ship if she had a chance!"_

_ "Haha, whatever…you were going to pull that stunt too captain."_

_ "…" "Shut up…"_

_ "Hehe…"_

_ "Anyways, let's take her in…"_

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Chapter 2- Memories that never leave…

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A calm, sea breeze settled into an open window in a sailing ship. In that room, the wind blew gently against Hitomi's sleeping form. During her sleep, Hitomi felt that very comforting breeze and she began to stretch on her bed. Slowly, Hitomi sat up, rubbing her sleepy, emerald eyes. For a moment, she sat there, her mind still in the land of dreams. She then reached for her pillow and plumped her head on its feathery softness. "Hmm…what a comfy pillow," she mumbled, nuzzling into the softness. "I wonder what kind of pillow is this…"

Suddenly, Hitomi sat right back up. She found herself looking into a beautiful room, decorated with beautiful, fresh flowers. The room was painted a light brown color, with beautiful paintings of beautiful towns, majestic oceans, and lush, green forests. There was a table for two near the balcony which had a great view of the ocean. A drawer was put next to doors that lead to the balcony. Hitomi looked down to see herself wearing a strapless nightgown that ran just above her knees. "Where…am I?" she asked, looking around. "The last thing I remember was being in this strange meadow…where there are these two men fighting at least 42 men in uniform…then that man with the white bandana…" She grasped her head with her hand. "What has happened to me?"

Hitomi felt like a truck has crashed into her head. She was feeling quite awful. Her head is throbbing, her body aches, and she could not even look straight. Suddenly, her throat felt itchy and she coughed violently. This was not going to make her day.

Slowly, the door that leads to the hallway opened in front of her. Hitomi looked up and covered herself with a blanket, horrified of the person coming in. She fears that it might be those crew members or even that man who is flirting with her. She prayed silently that it is not one of them. The door has finally opened to reveal a woman with long blonde, wearing a strapless lavender dress. Around her forehead was a thin, pink strap with a little white jewel in the middle. Quietly, she closed the door, holding a tray of food in her hands. She looked up and saw Hitomi awake in her bed.

"Oh dear, you are finally awake," she said with a smile, walking over to set the tray on the table. "I was worried that you have died…you have been sleeping for two days now…"

_"Two days?!__ What has happened to me??"_ Hitomi thought, rubbing her head.

"I see that you are confused of what happened to you two days ago," she said, sitting on a chair next to Hitomi's bed. "Apparently, the wound that you have caused you to have toxins in your bloodstream. One of those soldiers who was hiding in the hedges apparently have created the arrow's blade with poison inside it that would leave a person paralyze for a long time, dying in a slow pace. But, thank the Gods that you are alive."

Hitomi looked at the woman with a questioning look on her face. "Here. I brought you some food. This would help you feel better," the woman said, pointing at the tray. "I hope you like it."

"…"

"Oh, and by the way, my name's Millerna," she said, extending her hand for a welcome shake. "And who might you be?"

Hitomi looked at her hand and looked at the girl named Millerna. "_What am I supposed to do?"_ she thought, becoming more suspicious. "_I don't even know her…I mean…she is part of this crew right?"_

For a while, Millerna looked at Hitomi who was giving her a strange look. Sighing, she let her hands go onto her lap. "You still must be a bit suspicious about us, huh?" she said, shaking her head. "It is quite understandable that you are quite in a dilemma at this point. But, you have nothing to worry about..."

"…"

Millerna smiled as she stood from her seat, heading to the balcony to view the sea. "Anyways, you better eat. You have been sleeping for quite a while, so you must be hungry right now."

In reality, it was the exact opposite. Hitomi is not quite hungry at all. Although the delicious meal was quite mouth-watering, her stomach did not feel up to it. Trying not to throw up, Hitomi looked away and coughed once more.

Millerna turned around and noticed the status of the girl in front of her. Surprised, she ran over to her and checked on her very carefully. "Oh my," she said, feeling Hitomi's forehead. "It seems that you are still ill. I didn't realize that after much rest you are still sick. Just a minute, stay in bed, I'll get you some soup. Maybe that's why you hadn't started eating. Don't worry, just don't throw up."

Quickly, Millerna dashed out from Hitomi's room to retrieve the soup from the kitchen. Hitomi watched Millerna disappear into the hallways and she slowly lowered herself to the pillow. "_Umm…I just want to sleep right now…"_ Drowsily, her eyelids slowly closed and she into a blissful sleep.

------------------

Out on deck, Millerna walked up the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Millerna opened the door slowly, letting the sunlight pour into the dim hallways. After closing the door, she looked straight ahead to see a man standing there, looking out into the sea. Sighing, she walked towards him as she shakes her head. "You know, Captain, you called me at a bad time," said Millerna, looking at him, glowering.

"You don't have to call me that, Millerna, you know that. We known each other for years," he said, turning around to look at the young woman.

"Okay, whatever…Allen," she said with a smile. "So what did you call me for? It better be important and something stupid."

"Well…umm…you see…I wanted you to get me-" He paused for a moment to see the anger growing in Millerna's eyes. He quickly dismissed his first thought by coughing. "A-a-about the girl's status," Allen stuttered, turning around to look into Millerna's amethyst eyes. "I…I mean…he… wants to know of her status…if she is doing well."

"Well…she has just woken up a few minutes ago," she said, leaning her back against the rails. "But she is still ill from the poison affects."

"Umm…so I suppose she is resting right at this moment," said Allen thoughtfully.

"Yes, must likely right after I left…"

"Did you get her name?"

"No, actually. I was asking about her name, but, she was quiet." Millerna looked at her far away reflection in the ocean with a sad expression on her face.

"Oh…I thought she was the talkative type or something…man…I hate quiet girls…" he muttered quietly, with his hands over his mouth.

Millerna looked up. "Hrm?! Did you say something, Allen?"

"What…?! Umm…no…I was just…commenting the weather," he stammered. "Beautiful weather isn't it?"

"Oh really? Well, nice try, Captain, but, your little acting is kind of bad. I know you said you hate quiet girls," she retorted, glowering at Allen.

"Umm…well…I just kidding…"

"Well, after the flattery act you pulled, you probably scared her half to death. And I was hoping to chat with her…because she does seem like a friendly girl to me. Now thanks to you men…she won't talk for a while!" Millerna leaned back to the railings again with disappoint in her eyes. "I suppose I have to wait though. It will take some time to get adjusted to."

Allen simply nodded his head and kept his eyes out to the sea. They were quiet for a while as they gazed upon the wondrous sea filled with beauty in its watery depths. From afar, dolphins were jumping out of the water, breathing oxygen through their little blowholes. With one mighty leap, the dolphins went up and landed back down to the sea.

A door opened suddenly. With a mighty yawn, a young man with silver hair covered his mouth, sleepy tears forming in the brims of his eyes. "Huaah, good morning!" he said with a pretty loud voice. "Breakfast time already?"

"Good morning to you too, Dilandau," Millerna sighed. "And I suppose you want lunch with it too right?"

"Really?! Two meals in one meal? Would the grumpy, old chef really do that, Millerna?" asked Dilandau with a huge grin on his face.

"No, you idiot, I was being sarcastic. You just missed breakfast. It is already 11 and the chef is making lunch," Millerna said.

"AHH! I missed breakfast again?!" Dilandau groaned, slumping into the railings next to Millerna. "Urmm! Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

Millerna rolled eyes. "How can I? Even if I wake you up, you are hard to wake up! I wonder what you will do when you sleep through a tsunami," she said.

"There was a TSUNAMI!? Where?! When?! How?!"

"Dilandau, you're hopeless," Millerna sighed, grabbing Dilandau by his shirt. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen. I'll try to convince the chef to make you a breakfast meal…"

-------------------------

In the halls of the ship, two men were walking along, holding two pegs of rum in each of their shoulders. They both smiled heartily as they walked towards hallway where all the bedrooms were placed. "Hehe, we are gonna live it up tonight, eh Kio?" said a scrawny man, wearing a red bandana over his brown, curlish mop.

"Yup," said the chunky man to his companion. "We're gonna sing and dance all night! Better get ready, right Reeden?" A mighty chuckle came from Reedan's mouth.

Inside one of the bedrooms, Hitomi slowly woke up to the sounds of the seagulls passing by. She sat up in hopes that her body feels better than before. To her relief, it only ached a bit, and this was enough for her to walk around. Carefully, Hitomi removed the huge blankets from her body and stood on her two feet. She wobbled a bit, feeling a bit dizzy since it has been a while since she got up. After regaining her composure, Hitomi looked around for her clothes. Yet, she could not find it. Panic etched her pale face as she looked around for any clothing to use. On the closet door, there was a simple dress hanging behind the closet.

Hitomi's curiosity struck her mind and she grabbed for the dress. "Hmm…I wonder why this is out?" she asked, looking at the dress' details. "I suppose I can wear this for now." With a nod, Hitomi took the dress from the hanger, and began to put it on.

-------------------------

Allen walked along the halls while humming a tune. He opened a door to a room to find a young man with messy raven hair looking out into sea through his balcony. A smile etched on Allen's face and walked to him. He tapped him on the shoulder.

"Allen, do you have the decency to at least knock?" the boy scolded him playfully, looking away from the scenery.

"Hehe, always spacing out, huh? But, you know I don't knock…especially since you are a little brother to me," Allen said, nudging the top of the boy's head with his large hand.

"Well, I guess you're right," he said. "So, what brings you here?"

A smile appeared on Allen's face. "I am just here to tell you the girl is awake," he said to the boy.

"Really? Thank gods," the boy sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping. "I thought I didn't get the right treatments. Is she doing well?"

"Unfortunately, she is still experiencing the effects…so she is resting in her quarters. Millerna is tending to her right now, so, don't worry. Just rest…"

A small smile appeared on the boy's lips. "Alright, thanks…"

Allen nodded his head, relieved to see a smile on the boy's face. He began to walk out, but, a thought struck his mind. "By the way…" The boy turned around to view his captain. "Don't worry so much, okay Van?"

A smile came to his face and nodded. "I'll try…"

--------------------

Hitomi carefully tied the back of her dress. Her dress was a simple light pink and white halter top that cascaded just above her knees, one side longer than the other, similar to a kimono except shorter without the sleeves or the back. Slowly, she glanced at the mirror, seeing her own reflection upon it. She slowly turned side to side to see how she looked. With a simple shrug, Hitomi reached for the brush on the table. Again, she looked at her reflection. With delicate hands, she started moving her hands up and down her tied up hair, her usual choice of hairstyle every single day she goes to school. She reached for the elastic ribbon, but stopped for a moment. Inspecting closely, Hitomi looked at herself, viewing her green eyes, her light tan complexion that was pale due to her illness, her nose, her mouth, and the bottom of her jaw. Heaving a sigh, Hitomi pulled the elastic band from her hair. Swinging her head, her hair flowed all the way down to the back of her waist, the two front sides of her hair shorter than the other.

Hitomi inspected herself once more and slightly nodded her head, her face a bit hesitant. After stroking her hair a few times with her brush, Hitomi looked at the door that leads to the hallway. Hitomi was nervous at the point, nervous of what she would find. Hitomi could not stand staying in a place that she does not know. Although Millerna instructed to her to rest, that was not going to stop her. She needs to find out where she is so she can feel comfortable where she is at. Taking a deep breath, Hitomi walked over to the door, extending her shaky hand to the gold doorknob. "_Here goes…"_ she thought and slowly opened the door.

When she opened the door, Hitomi took a little peek. It was quiet in the halls with no noise of people coming her way. A sudden rush of relief came to Hitomi. Hitomi opened the door wider so she has enough room to go through that space.

"Haha, and did you see what Dilandau did??" said Kio with a smile.

Hitomi froze when she was about to move. Behind, she could feel someone walking close behind her and she felt shivers coming up to her spine.

"Yeah…he was like--" Reedan had stopped before he could even finish when a girl with long sandy blonde hair stood in front of them, her body still as ice.

Their voices suddenly stopped when Hitomi could feel their eyes preying on her like wild, carnivorous animals. She hated this feeling.

"Hey, is that the girl we saved two days ago?"

"Yeah, but when did she have long hair?"

"Let's go and say hi to her…"

Hitomi's fleeing instincts began to catalyst her mind. Hitomi dashed away when they were at arm's reach. She ran without knowing where she is going.

"Hey, wait! We just wanna say hi!" cried Kio. "We are not gonna hurts ya!"

That did not go through to her. Hitomi still kept on running until she is sure they are gone. "Why do people always think I'm weird?" Hitomi thought, shaking her head. "I'm not any different…I'm just a normal girl…"

Hitomi sharp turned a corner. "I'm just a normal girl…I just want some peace…I just want to be al-" She could not finish her thought when she suddenly collided onto a hard, well tone chest of a person. "Ahh!!"

**_Flash_**

_"Aww, the little un is cryin'? Ha-ha, serves you right. You're too weak to be a man!!"_

_ "I'm…I'm all alone…"_

****

**_Flash_**

Hitomi crashed hard onto the wooden floor, wincing as she made the painful impact. Slowly, Hitomi opened her eyes a bit. "_What was that…just then?"_

"Oww…that hurt," said a voice in front of her. The young girl stiffened when she heard the male voice in front of her, her mouth tightly shut. Slowly, that male figure in the shadows slowly got up and walked over to her, her body silhouetted by the window, showing a beautiful sunny day. His hand was scratching the side of his head. "Hey, Dilandau, can't you at least say excuse me before you run to the--" He stopped in the midst of his sentence when he saw Hitomi look at him with wide eyes. Slowly, he got up, his eyes never leaving her own. He dusted his behind and looked at her.

Somehow, when Hitomi gazed into his reddish-brownish eye, she does not detect any feeling of awkwardness that she mostly get when she looks into people's eyes. Slowly, she herself stood to her feet, feeling a bit dizzy once more as she regained her composure. Usually, Hitomi's running instincts would be kicking in by now, yet, it never came. Hitomi simply stood there, gazing into the man's eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" the man asked.

The voice did not reach Hitomi's ear. Her vision began to blur as the man began to speak. She could see his mouth moving, but she could not hear his voice. Her mind began to make her feel dizzy, and she could feel her head swirling like a turbulent whirlpool. Her body began to waver a bit from her standing position. Her eyes strayed away from the man and she could only see the swirls.

Suddenly, before she knew it, everything turned black.

------------------

_It was a rainy day, with no sunshine to brighten a young one's face. A young girl ran to the nearest shelter to cover her little head from the cold drops of water. She was at school, waiting patiently for her parents to pick her up. Today was the day when they will go to Shibuya to shop and eat. With her older brother, it would be much fun. _

_ The weather picked the wrong day to rain and the girl was quite sad, knowing that they would not be able to eat outdoors. As long as they are shopping and eating in a nice restaurant is good for the little girl._

_ Right at the entrance, a car pulled to the curb. The lights were on and the car honked at the girl. A smile began to appear on her face until she realized that she could not go out. She would be drenched if she made it to the car. "Stay right there, sweetheart," said a woman from the car. "I'll be there in a minute."_

_ The little girl nodded her head and waited patiently for the woman to come over to her aid. "Oh dear, we don't have an umbrella with us," said the woman. "How are we going to keep her from getting sick?"_

_ "Hey," said a voice from behind the girl. She turned around to see a girl at her age, with long reddish-brown hair tied up in pigtails. She was smiling at her._

_ "Yukari…what are you doing here?" asked the girl. "I thought you were staying in to help sensei with the blackboard…"_

_ "Nope," Yukari said with a smile. "I finished just in time to go with you to Shibuya. You wouldn't leave me behind, now would you? Especially since I am your best friend in the whole wide world."_

_ The little girl only laughed and nodded her head. "Okaasan," she called to the woman in the car. "Yukari is coming with us after all!!!"_

_ A smile appeared in the mother's face. "That is great news. Come on Yukari, let's go before the rain gets heavy!"_

_ Opening an umbrella, the two girls giggled as they crossed the school courtyard to the car. _

_ As the two girls passed by, Hitomi stood there, watching as the two little girls climbed into the car and drove off. A sad smile appeared on Hitomi's face as she looked at the young girl's happy face. "That was me before…when I was only a little girl…"_

_ Hitomi turned away from the scene to view a pretty scenery before her. It was the beautiful ocean near Yokohama Bay and Hitomi could see herself, now much older, with her same best friend Yukari. They were laughing about, eating some mouth-watering ice cream. _

_ "So, Hitomi, I heard you have a crush on someone in our class," Yukari said with a mischievous smile._

_ "What…? No…I don't have crush on anyone," said Hitomi, looking down to hide her protruding blush on her cheeks._

_ "Hitomi…don't fool with me," Yukari said. "I know you do. I mean, a major hottie who is part of the tennis club, soccer club, kendo club, drama club. He is popular amongst the girls and he is every teacher's favorite. I mean, he is the whole package right there."_

_ Hitomi stopped and looked out into the ocean. "I know, Yukari, it's just that, I'm probably not in his league…"_

_ "How can that be so…?"_

_ "Because…I'm not good enough for him…"_

_ "But he hasn't dated anyone in our school. I mean there were a lot of girls who got turned down by him and not once did I see him date anyone. Come on, maybe he is the One for you…"_

_ The young Hitomi looked into her best friend's eyes. "Do you think so…?"_

_ "I KNOW so! You two would make a perfect couple…"_

_ Hitomi watched as the two converses with each other about guys. "I remember this conversation…Yukari wanted me to date the guy I had first crush on ever since I began Junior high school. Yet, instead, I dated another one who confessed that he liked me. But…on that day…Yukari..."_

-------------------

"I told her not to get up from her bed," said a voice in Hitomi's subconscious. "I guess she was too curious about this ship…even though she was quite vital with her little illness…"

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you…" said another voice, more masculine than the other. "You must be pretty busy getting that helping her regain her health."

"No, it's not your fault at all. Helping her was no problem. It is just the fact of Dilandau…you know what I mean…"

From afar, a voice was heard from the deck. "Oi!! Land ahoy!!"

Some shifting was heard and the sound of footsteps started. "I have to go, Mil. I have to go with them…"

"Alright…I know how it is for you, but you have no other choice. Be careful…"

There was a moment of silence in between that gone on for one minute. "Don't worry, she will be fine…just go…and help them out…"

"Right…"

As the door closed, Hitomi's eyelids slowly opened to only find herself back in the room she was in before. Slowly, she sat herself up to see what was going on. She looked towards her right to see a smile on Millerna's face. "I see you finally come to," she said, grabbing the towel from Hitomi's forehead. "I guess running around isn't a good idea to tour the ship. You over did it and your temperature have rose."

"_How long have I been asleep?"_ Hitomi thought, gazing at the window. The sun was almost to the sea's horizon. Judging by the light the sun projected, it is now near dusk. Hitomi couldn't believe that she slept that long.

Millerna carefully pushed Hitomi back down to her pillow, grabbing the cool towel from a blue basin and put on Hitomi's forehead. "Now, rest. You can walk around your room, but you cannot go to any other place." Millerna put the basin right on the nightstand, and sat back in her comfy chair. Hitomi watched Millerna as the blond grabbed a book from the floor and started reading intently. On the book, it read "The Study of Medicine."

"_She must be a doctor or something…"_ Hitomi thought as she watched her eyes scan every word in the book.

"Have you gotten sick before?" Millerna asked suddenly, looking directly into Hitomi's green eyes. "Like is your immune system weak against bacteria or viruses?"

A curious look appeared on Hitomi's face. Millerna nodded and understood Hitomi by the way she looked. Millerna put the book beside her chair and got up. "Don't worry, you are not in critical condition. All you need is some food and rest. Back home, do you get enough sleep?"

"_Not really," _Hitomi thought as she covered herself with her covers. "_For the past 2 years I haven't gotten too much sleep…"_

Millerna watched as the mysterious girl covered herself under her covers as if she was trying to cover herself from bacteria. She only smiled at the girl's antics and only shook her head. "Shyness…I suppose," Millerna simply said.

----------------

Loud, horrifying sounds has erupted from outside as every single member of Allen's crew got out of the ship, screaming to scare any local off. Curiosity struck Hitomi once more and she could not help but look out to see what was going on. Grabbing a robe hanging out of one of the bedposts, she put it on and went out into the balcony.

In front of the ship, there is a glorious island that stretched 10 miles away from the horizon. Nature within this environment was beautiful, yet, the buildings, infrastructures, the transportation, and the factories spoiled the beauty of the true nature in the island. It was all built in a cluttered fashion, where everything is built one building after another. The feeling of the whole atmosphere is all cold and isolated.

People around that area started to scatter frighteningly like little field mice. "Kaizoku! EVERYONE! PIRATES ARE HERE!!!" said a native there, calling out to the people through a simple intercom. People from each house, building, and section of the city started to run to the farthest part of the island.

Coming out of the entrance of the ship, the captain with the long blonde hair pointed at the city with his sword. "Everyone! Steal whatever is in every house! Don't leave a stone unturned!" The crew cheered on and started to go into every house, putting every single item into each of their empty sacks.

The captain laughed heartily as he watched his comrades grab for every native's stuff. "This is what you get, you dumb Nezus! Don't ever mess with the clan of the Water Dragon God!!"

That laugh made Hitomi want to vomit in disgust. A handsome man turned out to be a man full of crude, abhor behavior that Hitomi ever seen. Of course, that is all pirates are. Hitomi watched as each of the crew members go by one house to another.

"Yahoo! Bring on you fatsoes!" yelled a laughing voice that Hitomi recognized a few days ago. And, right there, running like a manic, the man with the silver hair began fist fighting with the hostile people, mostly men who are too stubborn to flee for their lives. "Ha-ha, now, where is the food? Food, food, food…" His mouth was drooling with anticipation for a bite out of the native's food.

Hitomi gave an awkward look at the young silver hair man. If falling asleep in a battle is weird, the way he is acting is weirder. She simply left her attention from him and back to the crew.

After some time, the crew has gone further into the city. Hitomi somehow noticed a pattern when the pirates go to one house after another. When they go into a nice, looking building, they nab everything in there, including portraits. Yet, when they pass by a middle-aged house that have seen better days, they drop the stuff there and went into another nice looking house. What's more intriguing to Hitomi is that there was one person who lived in a middle-aged house that took the money, but, he did not get hit by the silver hair man or anyone. The pirates passed by him as if he was a ghost. Hitomi could not help but feel bewildered about this unlikely pattern that these "pirates" have done.

The sun was almost setting as the pirates began to come back slowly. There were only a few bags in their hands as some climbed aboard the ship. Some of the crew were still out there, looking for anything worthy to steal. Hitomi watched the Captain and the silver hair man converse with each other. The Captain hit the young man playfully while the young man laughed heartily and punched the Captain back playfully. It was as if no worries overcame them.

"Hey! Look out! The reinforcements are coming!" a voice yelled from afar. Both the Captain and the young man grew into their fighting stance. Hitomi looked out into the forest to see a herd of dust coming their way. Out of the bushes came the young man with the white bandana across his left eye. He jumped over one gate and another and ducked down under a table, trying to avoid the bullets coming his way. The crew who were inside the house started fighting against the men in armor, decreasing the odds between the man with the bandana and the reinforcement.

"Damn it?! What do you do?!" retorted the captain.

"I have no idea! I was just minding my own business when they came out of nowhere!"

"Oops…I think that's what that button do…"

"Dilandau!!!!"

Hitomi inspected the men in armor to find that they were the same men she saw two days ago. "Why are they her?" Hitomi wondered. Her eyes never left the man with the bandana, who was closing in to the ship. Appearing out of the alley, a young boy with a bottle of gold in his hands screamed horrifically as he saw the herd closing in. The man with the bandana noticed this and grabbed the boy, hurdling him to safety.

"Come on! Let's get him!" cried the men in uniform as they passed the two.

"Where is he?!" They continued onward without realizing that they left them just a few feet away. Carefully, he let the boy out into the open and a huge smile came into his face. Hitomi smiled back, seeing how the man with the bandana did a kind act.

But, that smile did not stay on the man's face long when he saw what the boy was holding. Quickly, he smacked it out of his hands. The boy began to cry as the knowledge of the bottle was no longer there.

"How can he do that?!" retorted Hitomi. "How can he do that to a little boy?!" Her opinion about the young man changed from a nice, sweet man to a crude, ruthless, hot-headed person he is, just like all the pirates from here. Hitomi could not help but feel complete rage and hatred towards this man. Disgusted by this scene, Hitomi just left the balcony and went into bed, trying her best to sleep.

--------

**_BAM!_**

"What's going on here?" asked Allen as he appeared behind Van who was trying to sooth the crying boy. "Why is this boy crying?"

Without a word, Van picked up a golden nugget from the ground and carefully, he handed it to Allen.

"What the hell is that?!" Allen said, reaching over to inspect the golden piece. The man with the bandana stood up, while grabbing the nugget from his hands. Walking to a far away distance, he threw it in a clearing. Suddenly, out of the blue, a huge beam of light sprayed the whole entire area and exploded thunderously, making everyone turn their attention to it. "No…what has-"

"That would have happened to him…simple as that…"

--------

The afternoon has gone by quickly, and everyone was now boarding the ship after their eventful raid. The men cheered triumphantly with the stuff in their shoulders.

"Yes! We showed those Nezus a thang or two!" said one crew member, showing a silver goblet in his hands. "We shall celebrate tonight!"

Their cheers rang out through the halls and into the deck. Along the halls, Millerna smiled at the cheers the men sprung out. With a tray of soup in her hands, she went to Hitomi's quarters.

In the room, Hitomi was fast asleep again, her breathing even. She felt such comfort in her sleep, with a soft pillow and a warm blanket over her body. The smile on her face, however, did not give the peaceful expression that one would gain when they are peacefully sleeping.

**_Dreamland_**

_Sounds of ambulances were heard around the area that Hitomi stood. In front of her a horrific scene have came into her vision. She gazed at two girls, one sitting on the pavement while the other lying on the girl's lap, with a large amount of blood spreading on the concrete pavement. Hitomi's eyes looked on in horror. "Why am I seeing this?"_

_ The girl who was looking down slowly opened her eyes to view her friend sitting there, trying to prevent the blood from coming out anymore. "H-Hitomi…" she said dryily. "I think…I am not going to make it…"_

_ "Yukari! Don't say that!" Hitomi said. "Please don't say such words! You are going to make it! I know…I've never failed as a friend! Believe that you will make it!"_

_ Yukari shook her head and looked into Hitomi's teary green-eyes. "Listen, Hitomi…it is not your fault that this happened…you tried everything to prevent this from happening…it was unexpected that I came here, walking safely when this happened. It was not your fault, Hitomi, it was "His" fault…"_

_ Hitomi shook her head. "No…no…it is partly my fault…I was there…"_

_ "But, you were not the one...Hitomi…" Yukari coughed roughly, crying in pain when her stomach ached. "Hitomi…you are the most wonderful friend I…ever had…without you there…I'm not sure what will happen to me…"_

_ "Yukari…don't say such words yet, you will live…" Hitomi cried, trying to bring hope to her friend. "I believe that you will make it because we have a dream…that one day we would bring hope to people…"_

_ Yukari nodded her head. "Hitomi…live on…choose the right path…don't follow the path of sorrow and despair. You're are only hope to make our…no…your dream to come true…"_

_ "Yukari…"_

_ "Hitomi…be with him…be with the man who will guide you…follow your heart…"_

_ "Oh no, we're losing her!" said an emergency paramedic._

_ "Yukari! Don't give up!!" Hitomi screamed._

_ "Hitomi…thanks for everything. Thank you for making my life worthwhile. Tell everyone that I love them all…so very much."_

_ "YUKARI!!!"_

_Flash_

_ Tears started to streak Hitomi's cheek as she hugged the person she holds dear. "Otousan…why? Why must you leave?"_

_ "For the sake of this family, Hitomi-chan. I want Mamoru, Hiro, and even your dreams to come true. I must do this…"_

_ "Otousan…"_

_ Flash_

_ "What a loser…"_

_ "Weirdo…"_

_ "Freak…"_

_ "Monster…"_

**_-End of Dreamland_******

Hitomi woke up from that weird dream of hers with a start. She removed the covers from her body and sat up from her comfortable sleeping position. Tears started to pour out of the brims of her eyes. She slowly put her hand over her mouth. This was unexpected for her that the dream has come out of nowhere. It all came to her at once when she saw these miserable visions. She shook her head fervently and kneeled against her hand. "Why…? Why can't these dreams disappear? Why can't I live my life peacefully? I just…want to end this…I just want this…"

After all the hysteria, Hitomi could only do one thing. With other free hand, she covered both of her eyes and started to sob her heart out, the images of her dream taking over her emotions. "Father…Mother…Yukari…I hate being judged…I hate being who I am…I just want to be…"

Unaware, the door to her room was slightly open. Her cries were heard from a figure behind that very door, with her sulking image appearing in the sights of the figure's eyes. Slowly, the figure looked away and slowly closed the door. A sad expression appeared on his face. Quietly, he walked away, with the image of the girl crying in his mind.

---------------------

End of Chapter 2

Author's Note: So, what do you guys think? Please, it is very much appreciative if you review. I simply want to know if you guys like it so I can keep on going.


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